The 30 Best Van Morrison Covers Ever

Head back to the beginning.

30. Reel Big Fish – Brown Eyed Girl

What’s not to like about a “third wave” ska version of “Brown-Eyed Girl”? Well, for one thing, for some people, it’s ska itself that’s not to like. Another thing: the original version of “Brown-Eyed Girl.” OK, the song is great, an obvious classic; it’s just been overplayed, which is not Van Morrison’s fault. But as it turns out, ska and “Brown-Eyed Girl” are mutually enhancing. This cover is fantabulous. Reel Big Fish apply reel-y good horn lines to give the song’s well-worn guitar hooks a brassy new sheen. The vocal harmony additions are turbo-charged. Even the well-rehearsed ad-libs bring a smile (Lead singer: “my brown-eyed girl!” Sideman: “Or green, or blue!”). — Tom McDonald

29. Passenger – And It Stoned Me

The opening song on Moondance, “And it Stoned Me,” is soaked in pastoral poetry, remembrances of Northern Ireland, and Blakean nostalgia for innocent youth – making it quintessential Van. The events “half a mile from the county fair,” the fishing rods, the getting wet, and the liking for Jelly Roll (Morton) are the autobiographical lyrical ingredients of one of the most captivating and romantic accounts of the adolescent good life ever recorded. No wonder raspy-voiced Brighton singer Passenger (AKA Mike Rosenberg) wanted a piece of it. Five years on from being a massive pop star with the international chart topper “Let Her Go,” he reminded us on 2017’s Sunday Night Sessions that the song was also simply a killer tune. He didn’t have to change much to discover that. — Adam Mason

28. Ruby Turner – Checkin’ It Out

“Checkin’ It Out” is a particularly jaunty song for Morrison, featuring bouncy electric piano and a synthesizer/organ duel featuring Garth Hudson of The Band. It is, um, not one of Morrison’s most developed lyrics. So it’s a perfect feature for a strong voice, such as Jamaican/British soul singer Ruby Turner. Turner, who was just beginning her career, has a lot of fun with a fun song, really digging into some of the syllables. And she truly shows off her chops on the song’s boisterous coda. She’s accompanied by a prominent saxophone part, an instrument that is only briefly heard in the original. And the result is a version that feels spirited and fresh, like it was always meant to sound like this vaguely jazzy R&B. — Riley Haas

27. Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith – I’ll Be Your Lover Too

Morrison’s 1970 album His Band and the Street Choir was made up of songs that didn’t make the cut for Astral Weeks and Moondance. If I had to guess, I’d put “I’ll Be Your Lover Too” in the first category – it’s got the same sort of quiet, contemplative flow, the same sort of gentle jazz music behind it. When Shannon Whitworth and Barrett Smith teamed up for their 2012 cover collection Bring It On Home, “I’ll Be Your Lover Too” made the cut, and I’m glad it did. One reviewer said that “sometimes it’s not about changing a song to reflect your personality, or ‘making it your own,’ it’s simply a case of letting the song be front and center.” This is a perfect example. — Patrick Robbins

26. Johnny Rivers – Slim Slow Slider

The enigmatic closing track on Astral Weeks portrays someone living her best life. She rides a horse, drives a Cadillac, hangs in the correct neighborhood with her new lover. And yet the last verse discloses that she’s dying. This reveal is at odds with Morrison’s affect, the way he chuckles at points, and sings through a grin. His uncharacteristic lightness is a striking part of the track. As is Richard Davis’ acoustic bass, and how he responds to Morrison’s outbursts, or maybe triggers them. Add in the free-jazz elements near the end, and you have one weird and singular song.

So it’s doubly strange that a commercial artist like Johnny Rivers—or any artist, really—would record two covers of the song, one to open his album, the other to close it, and to title this new album Slim Slo Slider. The twist in the title may nod to his drastic overhauling of Morrison’s original. Rivers discards almost all the verses and rewrites the one he keeps. Musically, he strips the song down to its simplest elements. The way it starts sounds like something from The Band (compare the way the drums enter to “The Weight.”) But then Rivers lets the song veer into a basic two-chord vamp over which some strings are overdubbed, and a flute warbles, and Rivers extemporizes at length. He makes it, of all things, a song of religious praise. This was 1970, a peak year for religious mania in pop music, with “My Sweet Lord,” and Jesus Christ Superstar both topping the charts. But that religious dimension doesn’t define the cover, any more than the free jazz whirlwind at the end of Astral Weeks defines the original version; it’s just one part of the whole strange tapestry. — Tom McDonald

25. Southside Johnny & Little Steven – Into the Mystic

“Into The Mystic” is a gentle, yearning tune about a spiritual quest. Originally entitled “Into The Misty,” which also works, Morrison changed the title after recognizing the mystical, ethereal feel of the song. In fact, according to Morrison, many of the lyrics themselves are filled with double meanings—for example, the first line could be interpreted as “We were born before the wind” as well as “We were borne before the wind.” Any way you slice it, though, it is a wonderful song, and, according to a 1999 BBC survey, it was one of the top songs chosen by surgeons to listen to while performing procedures. Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes covered the song live a handful of times over their long career, and one performance was released on a 2007 rarities compilation, Jukebox. Being live (and being Southside Johnny and not Morrison), it’s gruffer and rougher than the original, but the emotional center of the song comes through. — Jordan Becker

24. Me Like Bees – Dweller on the Threshold

“Blind Covers” is an extremely fun YouTube series where a brave band covers a song they’ve never heard. They get only the lyrics, and have to make up the rest. Needless to say, the results rarely sound anything like the original (which they get to hear at the end of each video, after they’ve finished recording their attempt). “It could be a butt-rock song for sure,” one band member guesses when handed the lyrics to “Dweller on the Threshold,” off Morrison’s 1982 album Beautiful Vision (Van’s explored many genres, but that is thankfully not one of them). Me Like Bees also eschew butt-rock, going for a heavy soul version that’s like two parts Otis Redding, one part stoner-rock. It’s great on its own merits, and the reveal at the end is worth sticking around for. — Ray Padgett

23. Billy Connolly – Irish Heartbeat

The short sea journey between the West Coast of Scotland and the East Coast of Ireland has been a conduit for people, ideas and, frankly, trouble since before history has been recorded in this part of the world. Scotsman Billy Connolly was a shipbuilder and folk musician before becoming the world’s greatest standup comedian (it is suggested that you don’t argue with a Scotsman about this), so he understands all the aspects of the trade in ideas and culture and how they are facilitated. Here, with the clout and budget that he had as a world-famous comedian, Connolly covers “Irish Heartbeat,” the title track from Van Morrison’s 1988 collaboration with the Chieftains. His version involves Scottish bagpipes in a celebration of Ireland, keeping the positive aspects of the ongoing discourse between the nations healthy and vibrant. — Mike Tobyn

22. Emilie-Claire Barlow – Sweet Thing

There are jazz undertones to “Sweet Thing,” of course. They are driven by Richard Davis’ busy standup bass playing, which functions almost as the lead guitar. But Canadian singer Emilie-Claire Barlow chooses to lean into the jazz completely, with bass even more prominent in her version. For the first verse, in fact, it’s just her voice and bass. Barlow is clearly a student of the song, as she includes flute and triangle in the arrangement, both of which are present, albeit far more muted in the mix, in the original. What’s not here is Morrison’s persistent rhythm guitar, nor the drums. And this frees up Barlow to do her thing, playing with the vocal melody and scatting near the end. It’s a vocal jazz reinvention that honors the original in its instrumentation if not its sound. — Riley Haas

21. Brian Kennedy – Queen of the Slipstream

Angelically voiced Brian Kennedy had been a backing singer for Van Morrison in the late ’80s before ultimately embarking on a solo career in 1991 (While continuing his gig with Van). Kennedy’s sleek ‘n’ slick 1994 cover of the grandly romantic “Queen of the Slipstream” is a more delicate creature than the original. The strings, backing singers and passionately ornery Van vocal stylings present in the original, are gone and replaced by the sweet clarity of Kennedy’s lustrous voice and a swath of soprano sax. Sonically, it’s kinda ’90s, but damn, is it ever pretty. — Hope Silverman

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